del mar  Elegant, English-style riders on beautifully groomed horses will trot and leap through three arenas at the Del Mar County Fair today.

Throughout the day, youngsters and adults will compete in the final round of events of the annual Del Mar Classic Horse Show. Avid riders come from far away to participate each year, Yuma resident Amy Karvoski said Tuesday.

She’s been making the trip for three decades, and said it’s very attractive to head to San Diego in June given that Yuma hit 113 degrees this week.

As she watched 21 riders pass by in an outdoor arena, Karvoski said she could tell which horses were calm just by the angle of their heads and how often they swished their tails.

“If they’re comfortable, they’ve got their heads down,” she said. “Horses are very emotionally involved with their riders. If you’re uptight, they’re uptight.”

And, like people, some horses are more combative than others, said Susan Franz, a frustrated La Mesa resident, as she waited for her daughter’s horse to display her jumping skills in an indoor arena.

“She’s perfect at home and you bring her to a show and she goes berserk,” she said.

They call the mare “Tehya Nova,” meaning “Precious Burst of Energy,” but mom says sometimes she’d like to call her “Brat.”

Daughter Kailyn Franz, 20, said she doesn’t like that name, but understands the sentiment. She said she worried that her horse might become spooked when she entered the arena.

In practice sessions Monday, the horse jumped beautifully, soaring over the bars with ease. But when she had to do it for medals Tuesday, Tehya Nova refused to go over the very first obstacle.